Sign flasher



T. J. MUDON Nov. 6, 1934.

S IGN FLASHER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1932 [mani a/ f/zamaa \f/Yudon Nov. 6, 1934.

T. J. MU

DON

5 IGN FLASHER Filed Aug.

TRANS SEC 77mm a;

5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 6, 1934. T. J. MUDON 1,979,807

SIGN FLASHER Filed Aug. 8, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 TRANS,

Nov. 6, -192.4,. T, J, MUDON 1,979,807

5 IGN FLASHER Eiled A g- 8. 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet s I Ira/an er 720272.045 J MucZon Patented Nov. 6, 1934 FATEENT @FFEQE Application August 8, 1932, Serial No. 627,899

11 Claims.

My invention relates to electric circuit control devices and particularly to a device for making and breaking electrical circuits in continuous cycles.

My invention contemplates as one of its objects the provision of a simple device of this character which is capable of use in flashing gaseous conduction signs so as to give animation to them.

More particularly it is a purpose of my invention to provide a simple flasher structure of variable speed whereby the high potentials utilized in connection with neon sign letters and designs may be flashed in different combinations of from two to several tubes or units. In its simplest form, the flasher is capable of alternately flashing two tubes. With no change in the structure and simple wiring changes, the same device may be made to flash several more tubes in continuous succession.

More specifically it is a purpose of my invention to provide a flasher unit wherein a simple rotary element is driven between a series of rocker arms to successively make and break a plurality of points in electric circuits, the rotary element and the rocker arms being entirely free of the circuit.

Other and more specific objects of the invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein the preferred form of the invention is shown. It is obvious, however, that various modifications may be made from the exact details shown and described, and therefore it must be understood that the drawings and description are illustrative only and are not to be taken as limiting the invention except in so far as it is limited by the claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side View partially in section of the flasher unit; Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the same line looking in the opposite direction;

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are diagrammatic sketches showing how the flasher is wired for different combinations of tubes; and

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate a modified form of the invention, Fig. 8 being a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7. Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate a further modification. Referring now in detail to the drawings, the flasher is mounted on a base 10 which is also the base for an induction disk type motor 11 driving the operating shaft 12 of the flasher. The mechanical features of the structure will first be i to the drive equipment.

(Cl. MiG-27) described, and then the details of the wiring diagrams will be explained.

The induction disk motor 11 is a commercial product which can be purchased in the open market and is of a type in which by moving the shading coils located at 13 the speed of rotation of the disk 14 and of the shaft 12, which is geared to the disk through the gears such as 15, 16 and 17, may be regulated. The speed change possible on this device enables me to increase the speed from the minimum of the machine to about three times that minimum which is sufficient for my purpose.

The flasher unit is made up of a pair of insulating disks 18 spaced apart by means of the insulating bars 20 fastened therebetween by suitable screws 21. The lower disk 18 is then secured upon a U-shaped mounting member 22 that is mounted on the frame of the motor 11.

A shaft 23 is suitably connected to shaft 12 and is rotatably mounted in the cisks l8 and 19 having a reduced end at 24 seated in a recess in disk 19. This shaft 23 has between the disks 18 and 19 the cam 25 fixed thereon. Surrounding the shaft 23 there are a plurality of pivot pins 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31, these pivot pins being journalled in sockets in the disks l8 and 19 as shown at 32 and 33 in Fig. 1. Two of the pivot 1 pins 26-3l carry a rocker arm which rocker arm in turn carries the bridging contacts such as 34, 35, 36, et cetera. The pivot pins such as 26 and 27 also have thereon the pin connectors 37, 38, et cetera, which pin connectors are held down by springs 39, these springs tending to turn the pins in a direction to bring the bridging contact against the stationary contacts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 arranged in pairs about the periphery of the disks. The rocker arms on the pivot pins are of insulating material as is the cam 25 so that they form no means of conducting a high voltage placed on the contacts 1-6 Contacts 1-6, inclusive, are provided with terminals as is indicated clearly at 40 and 41 in Fig. 1, and these terminals are adapted to be connected to the leads on the secondary of the transformer and from the various tubes of an advertising sign.

As an example of the manner in which the tubes may be connected up for flashing purposes, I have illustrated three wiring diagrams in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 which involve two, three, and six separate tubes respectively. It is understood from an examination of Figs. 2 and 3 that the cam 25 striking the bevelled inner ends of the rocker arms and rotating in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 will successively open the contacts such as 2, 3, and 4, and the springs 39 will close these contacts as soon as the cam moves away. As shown by Fig. 2, the cam opens the next succeeding contact before the last one it opened closes. This is very important as it avoids a short circuit across the secondary of the transformer and also insures keeping at least one tube in circuit at all times. The fundamental wiring circuit used in this device is the same in principle as that shown in my prior copending application Serial No. 595,077 for Circuit controlling device.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 6, I have simply illustrated the disks diagrammatically, placing the back contacts in the inner circle and the front contacts in the outer circle of contacts.

In Fig. 4, the operation is as follows: Taking a given instant when contacts 1 are open because the cam 25 has engaged the rocker arm carrying the bridging contact 35, we find that,

with the rest of the contacts closed as they would be, the tube S is shorted out over a path ex tending from one secondary lead 42 to the letter S through this letter to the junction of the two letters and to the connector 43, through closed contacts 6 and connecting lead 44, contacts 2, connector 45, and contacts 4 back to the secondary lead 42. The tube 0, however, will be lighted over a path leading from the secondary lead 46 over the lead 47 to the letter O and thenv over the lead 43 and the path just described to secondary lead 42. In the continued action of the flasher, contacts 2 are open before contacts 1 are closed, and this places tubes S and O in series across the transformer temporarily flashing both tubes together. Then, when contacts 1 close, the lead 43 is connected to secondary 46 over contacts 1, connector 48, contacts 3, connector 49, and contacts 5. Again, before contacts 2 close, contacts 3 open, andthe two letters light up in series as before. In the next step, contacts 2 close connecting 43' to 42 thus shorting out the letters and lighting up the O. In his way the tubes are successively illuminated three times for each rotation of the cam 25.

In Fig. 5, the terminals of the secondary are connected to the outer terminals of the outside letters by leads 50 and 51. Lead 50 is connected 7 to the front terminal of contacts 5, and lead 51 is connected to the back terminal of contacts 1. The front contacts 1 and 4 are connected together as are front contacts 3 and 6. Front contact 2 and back contact 3 are connected. The lead 52 connects the junction between left hand S and O to the front contact 2 while the junction of O and the right hand S is connected by lead 53 to back contact 6.

The operation is as follows: With contacts 2 open and the remaining contacts closed, the first Sis lighted by current from secondary lead 50 through the letter to lead 52 and front contact 2,

back and front contacts 3, front and back contacts 6, back and front contacts 4, and front and back contacts 1 to secondary lead 51.

Before contacts 2 close, contacts 3 open, and this lights 0 before S is shorted out by breaking the circuit for lead 52 at contacts 3 and leaving 53 connected to 51 through back contact 6, back and front contacts 4 and front and back contacts 1. Then contacts 2 are closed, and this shorts out the first letter by connecting 52 direct to 50 through contacts 2 and contacts 5.

Before contacts 3 close, contacts 4 open and disconnect 51 from 53 at contacts 4 thus lighting the last letter in series with O, 52 still being connected to 50 through contacts 2 and 5. The contacts 3 are closed connecting 53 to 50 through back and front contacts 6, front and back contacts 3, front and back contacts 2 and contacts 5. The middle letter is thus shorted out since 52 and 53 connect at 2.

The first letter is then lighted before the last is cut off by the opening of contacts 5 before contacts 4 close. When4 and 5 are both open, 52 and 53 are connected together, but are not connected to either 50 or 51. Then when 4 closes,

this shorts out the last letter by connecting 53 and 52 to 51 through contacts 4 and 1.

In Fig. 6, I show connections illustrating how 6 different tubes may be successively flashed by this flasher. In this adaptation, secondary lead 60 connectsto the outer terminal of tube a and to front contact 5. Secondary lead 61 conmeets to the outer terminal of tube ,1 and to back contact 4. Front contact 4 is connected to back contact 3; front contact 3 is connected to back contact 2; front contact 2 is connected to back contact 1; front contact 1 is connected to back contact 6; and front contact 6 is connected to back contact 5. The junction between tubes a-b, bc, c-d, d-e, and ef are connected to back contacts 5, 6, 1, 2, and 3, respectively, by the leads 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66.

The operation to flash the six tubes successively will now be described. Starting with contacts 1 open and the others closed, the tubes a and b are shorted out because lead 60 is connected to 62 through contacts 5 and is connected to 63 through contacts 5 and 6. Lead 64, however, connects to 61 through closed contacts 2, 3, and 4. Tube 0, therefore, is across the transformer leads and is lighted. Leads 65 and 66 are also connected to 61 through closed contacts 3 and 4 so that tubes (1, e, and are shorted out.

Contacts 2 open before contacts 1 close to avoid a short circuit, and tubes 0 and d light in series momentarily since 64 is out 01f from either secondary lead at contacts 1 and 2. Then contacts 1 close and connect 64 to 63 through contacts 1 shorting out tube 0. Then when contacts 3 open just before contacts 2 close, tube 0 flashes on in series with tube d because lead 65 is cut oif from both 60 and 61 at contacts 2 and 3. When contacts 2 close, then tube 11 is shorted out across contacts 2 and leads 64 and 65 and 65 is connected to 60 leaving tube 6 lighted alone. The next step in the cycle opens contacts 4 before contacts 3 close, and this cuts off lead 66 from 61 to illuminate momentarily tubes 6 and f in series. Then contacts 3 close and connect leads 65 and 66 together, and this also connects 66 to 60 to illuminate tube f alone. The next step opens contacts 5 before contacts 4 close thus momentarily flashing on tube a. before tube 1 is cut off by cutting 62 off from 6. Head 62 connects through contacts 6, 1, 2, and 3 direct to 66. The further operation is evident from the foregoing description. a

From the above description it will be clear that by simple wiring changes this flasher may be caused to operate in one of several combinations of letters in continuous cycles.

It will be noted also that in every instance the two sides of the secondary'of the transformer which are at a very high voltage, usually in the neighborhood of ten to fifteen thousand volts, always have at least one tube in circuit across them. It will also be noted that the circuit is never broken in such a fashion as to cause arcing because after a tube is lighted it is extinguished by making a short circuit across its two ends while another tube is in series therewith. Thus I avoid both short circuits and open circuits on the secondary of the transformer which is highly important. Transformers for these types of signs are necessarily of a constant current type and cannot be left either on opencircuit or on short circuit without damage.

The circuit features of this invention combines readily with another feature hereinafter described to enable me to continue operating the flasher on a sign even though one tube burns out or fails in some other way. Referring to Figs. 1-3, it will be noted that I have provided each pair of contacts 1 to 6 inclusive with horn gaps consisting of the conductors 70-71, preferably of a hard iron so that arcing on them does not quickly deteriorate them. The gap between 70 and 71 is considerably shorter than the distance between the contacts protected thereby so that, if a tube is burned out, the arc will form across the gap protecting the contacts for shorting it. This are prevents excessively high voltages due to open circuiting the transformer and father makes a working substitute for the tube so that the flasher may continue to flash the remainder of the tubes in the usual way. This feature is claimed in my copending application Serial No. 719,139, filed April 5, 1934.

In Figs. 7 and 8, I show a modified form of device which is particularly useful for double faced sign constructions. Here a series of pairs of contacts such as 72, 73, 74 are mounted on an insulating panel 75. These contacts are connected to the tubes and the transformer secondary in some suitable manner such as that shown in Fig. 7 so that successive opening and closing of the contacts successively energizes the tubes. The circuit operation is substantially the same as that described in connection with Figs. 4-6.

Contact is made and broken between the pairs of contacts by a series of rocker arms such as 76, 77, 78 on one side and 79, 80, and 81 on the other side. These rocker arms carry suitable bridging contacts such as 82, 3, and 84, and are themselves preferably of insulating material. Shafts 85 and 86 pivotally mount the rocker arms, and springs 87 and 88 tend to hold them in one limiting position. The rocker arms are moved to their other limiting positions, in this case contacting position by push rods such as 89, there being a push rod for each pair of rocker arms. The push rods are vertically slidable in frame member 90, and are moved in timed sequence by cams such as 91 on shaft 92. It is obvious, of course, that shaft 92 may be driven from the same source as shaft 23.

The structural features of the invention are very simple, compact, and strong so that it may operate indefinitely without any care. The space required for it is very small, and, therefore, it may be used in a great number of places where larger and more complicated equipment could not be employed. The device as shown in Fig. 1 is substantially full sized.

In Figs. 9 and 10, I show a further form which has certain distinct advantages. In this form, shaft 92 and came 91' are above the contact mechanism. The push rods 93 are normally held up by springs 94 resting on bushings 95.

Beneath the partition 96 are the rocker arms 97, one for each side of a double faced sign. These rocker arms carry the bridging contacts 98 adapted to close circuit across contacts 99100.

' is in'parallel with a pair of horn gaps.

The horn gaps 101, 102 are placed outside the ving a discharge path that will break down before the secondary voltage becomes high enough to damage the transformer.

The tube S is in series with the other tubes, but the controlling contacts therefor are not shown. This mechanism permits the making of the flasher in units of say four cams and pairs of rocker arms together with their associated contacts and the assembling of these units to make flashers of different sizes. The cams 91' are, of course, mounted on the cam shaft 92" in proper angular relation to give the desired time lag between the flashing of adjacent tubes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A circuit control device comprising a pair of spaced insulating supports having arranged thereon opposed contacts in pairs, bridging memers for said pairs of contacts, yielding means urging said bridging members into circuit closing position, and a drive member having means thereon for successively moving the bridging members away from their contacts, said means and bridging members cooperating to move a new bridging member away from its contacts before closing the one just previously moved.

2. A circuit control device comprising a pair of spaced insulating supports having arranged thereon opposed contacts in pairs, bridging members for said pairs of contacts, and a drive member having means thereon for successively moving the bridging members away from their contacts, said means and bridging members cooperating to move a new bridging member away from its contacts before closing the one just previously moved.

3. A circuit control device comprising a pair of spaced insulating supports having arranged thereon opposed contacts in pairs, bridging memhere for said pairs of contacts, insulating carriers for said bridging members pivotally mounted between said supports, and a drive member having means thereon for successively moving the bridging members away from their contacts, said means and bridging members cooperating to move a new bridging member away from its contacts before closing the one just previously moved.

4. A circuit control device having a variable speed drive unit, a pair of disks fixed together in spaced relation, a cam between said disks and driven by said unit, rocker arms pivoted between said disks in operative relation to said cam,

said arms carrying bridging contacts, and said disks having opposed pairs of terminal contacts connected and disconnected by said rocker arms when the arms are operated by the cam.

5. A circuit control device comprising a variable speed drive unit, a pair of disks of insulating material mounted thereon in spaced relation, a drive shaft extending from said unit into the space between said disks and having a cam member thereon, pairs of terminal contacts on said disks, and means actuated by said cam to successively connect and disconnect said pairs of terminals.

6. A circuit control device comprising a variable speed drive unit, a pair of disks of insulating material mounted thereon in spaced relation, a

drive shaft extending from said unit into the space between said disks and having a cam member thereon, pairs of terminal contacts on said disks, and means actuated by said cam to successively connect and disconnect said pairs of terminals, said means cooperating with said cam to disconnect a new pair of contacts before the previously disconnected contacts close.

'7. In a flashing system for high voltage gaseous conduction devices, frame members provided with opposed pairs of terminal contacts, electrical connections between said devices and said contacts so arranged that connecting a pair of contacts completes a short circuit around one of said devices, and a drive shaft having a cam thereon,v

{the cam carrying means to make and break contogether with rocker arms actuated by the cam carrying means to make and break connection between said pairs of contacts in succession.

8. In a flashing system for high voltage gaseous conduction devices, frame members provided with opposed pairs of terminal contacts, electrical connections between said devices and said contacts so arranged that connecting a pair of contacts completes a short circuit around one of said devices, and a drive shaft having a cam thereon, together with rocker arms actuated by the cam carrying means to make and break connection between said pairs of contacts in succession, said cam and rocker arms being so arranged as to maintain at least one pair of contacts separated at all times.

9. In a flashing system for high voltage gaseous conduction devices, frame members provided with opposed pairs of terminal contacts, electrical connections between said devices and said contacts so arranged that connecting a pair of contacts completes a short circuit around one of said devices, and a drive shaft having a cam thereon, together with rocker arms actuated by the cam carrying means to make and break connection between said pairs of contacts in succession, said rocker arms having means connected therewith yieldingly pressing them toward circuit closing position.

10. In a flashing system for high voltage gaseous conduction devices, frame members provided with opposed pairs of terminal contacts, electrical connections between said devices and said contacts so arranged that connecting a pair of contacts completes a short circuit around one of said devices, and a drive shaft having a cam thereon, together with rocker arms actuated by nection between said pairs of contacts in succession, said frames having pivot pins mounted therebetween on which said rocker arms are carried.

7 11. In a flashing system for high voltage gaseous conduction devices, frame members provided with opposed pairs of terminal contacts, electrical connections between said devices and said contacts so arranged that connecting a pair of contacts completes a short circuit around one of said devices, and a drive shaft having a cam thereon, together with rocker arms actuated by the cam carrying means to make and break connection between said .pairs of contacts in succession, said frames having pivot pins mounted therebetween on which said rocker arms are carried, and springs connected with the pin and rocker arm structure to hold them in one limiting position.

THOMAS J. MUDON. 

